


Bonding on the Grand Line

by Liyada



Category: Pocket Monsters SPECIAL | Pokemon Adventures
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, But honestly I Regret Nothing, Gen, Happen 20 years before Gold Roger's death, I still don't know if included Cheren was a good or bad idea, One Piece AU, Pirate AU, Spe Art Community Summer Event
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:27:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26274847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liyada/pseuds/Liyada
Summary: In a world where Gold Roger is still an unknow name, Pearl and his crew left North Blue for the Grand Line. But are they ready for everything waiting them?
Relationships: Pearl & Cheren
Kudos: 2





	Bonding on the Grand Line

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys!
> 
> I wrote this OS for the Spe Art Community Discord event! The theme was pirate, and I got assigned to Pearl, so the perfect opportunity to write about my favorite character~
> 
> So yeah. Basically, it's a One Piece AU that happens roughly 20 years before Gold Roger's death (so for people who know OP, Brook's crew is still around). Hope you'll like it!

“We’re going to die! That’s funny!” Despite the thunder and the gigantic waves around them, Volkner’s voice could still be heard by the whole crew.

“If you have the energy to scream like a dummy,” Pearl’s eyebrows were shuddering as he had issues to control his sound level, “Then take this freaking rope and maintain the sail dammit!”

Waves the size of buildings were crashing against the hull, sending all the boat’s passengers to one end to another, making the floor, ropes, and other materials slippery. The wind was covering nearly all of Pearl’s orders to his crew, and he could already feel his voice shattering. And even if they were in the middle of the afternoon, the dark clouds covering the sky were blocking all light, putting them in an unnatural and threatening night.

The elements really seemed to be against them today.

A shame, considering they were currently fighting the imperious current in an attempt to not crash against the mountain.

“So that’s the Reverse Mountain, uh?” Byron sniffed. “Not that impressive, rumors are really exaggerating everything.”

“Grand Line, get ready for the Sinnoh Pirates!” Candice exclaimed, throwing her fist to the sky. “Ah, that’s going to be so cool!”

“Can y’all shut up and help?” Maylene let out a sight of pure exasperation. “Arriving on the Grand Line is nice, but for that, we need to not die first!”

Pearl inspired deeply. He knew his crew, he was their captain after all. They were competent enough to cross this mountain, here was not the question. But if they stopped bickering and taking things lightly, that would sure be helpful, because no Volkner, no Byron, no Candice, the Reverse Mountain was not some playground, neither was the Grand Line. The whole crew had good reasons to leave their natal North Blue for the most dangerous sea in the world, but still, he would prefer to stay alive, and not damage the boat too much already.

They were his friends, they were competent, but still, being their captain was exhausting.

Yet… While standing on the soaked deck, yelling orders, Crasher Wake taking care of the rudder next to him while Roark and Gardenia tying their belongings so they would not lose anything to Davy Jones, Pearl could not help but smile.

The boat shook, tilted, and out of a sudden, they were a bullet in the cannon, propelled at an incredible speed. They had gotten into the canal in one piece, and once they would have reached the top, they would be on the infamous Grand Line.

Iodine scent flooded Pearl’s nose as he took a deep breath and looked for the last time North Blue. Far away, behind the waves and behind the clouds, in a place his eyes could not reach anymore, his two best friends were living their peaceful, normal daily life. Platinum was probably studying to take her father’s succession at the head of their kingdom. Diamond was going to keep cooking for her, and maybe perform some sketches, even without him to write them.

And he was going to be a pirate on the infamous Grand Line, turning his back to everything he used to be.

Yes, this was probably for the best.

His face showed no regret as he turned his back to North Blue. They had reached their goal, they had reached the top of the Mountain and the Grand Line, and they were not going to start a new adventure, dangerous, more likely deadly, yet exciting. The euphoria of his comrades finally reached him, as he joined them, screaming to the wind and the sea.

“We did it, guys!” He grinned, took in the magic of this moment. “We are on the Grand Line!”

* * *

Pearl’s favorite position was on the roof of the cabin, where he could clearly see both the sea with other boats or islands coming and his desk with his crew without getting himself locked in the look-out post. It had become a tradition for him to sit there after breakfast, and to read the newspaper or write their last adventures in the log, until something, a storm or Marines or anything came up.

Today was not an exception, and he found himself sitting at his favorite place, a quill in his hand, and the log on his knees.

_13th August 1470._

_This morning, Byron and Fantina decided we should have a party to celebrate our first year on the Grand Line._

Sometimes, it seemed the Reverse Mountain was not so far ago, yet this year had been full of adventure. They had rested on the Kyula Island, see an island that was only the feces of a giant goldfish, fought and befriended the Rumbar Pirates on Jaya, exploded their stomachs on Pucci, were chased and attacked by the Marine and the World Government, and it was only a fragment of all the stories he had registered in the log.

But obviously, there were also other and less enjoyable sides.

_It would be great for everyone’s mood, but we should take care of our prisoner first, especially if his friends are still after us._

The prisoner was, unfortunately, among the unpleasant parts. They had not even meant to capture him in the first place! This guy, an officer from the World Government, had been on their tail even since they entered the Grand Line and had been one of their biggest pain in the neck. 

So, of course, it had to be the same one guy that they found shipwrecked after their last battle, covered in too much blood to be identifiable, and who they decided to take on board and heal because they may have been pirates but still had morals. Once they could see who it was… Well, it was already too late, he had already been treated and if Pearl hated something more than officers who were too eager to arrest them, it was wasting their efforts in vain.

Now they had to choose what to do with him. Kill him? That would be a waste after healing him. Giving him back to the World Government, so he could continue pursuing them and being a pain? No, thank you very much, they had already lost too much time for him. Just keeping him prisoner? Meh, having a useless mouth to feed was not exactly the best plan when you were pirates.

Pearl sighed and closed the log. They still had not brought the prisoner his breakfast, didn’t they? Volkner probably forgot once again. He always forgot when he was on duty. Guess he’ll have to do it himself. Maybe it’ll help with deciding what to do with him.

He jumped on the desk and opened the kitchen door, only to find a tray with a bowl of white rice already prepared. Something he would not have to do for once. Sighing one last time, he put a forced smile on his face before entering the prisoner’s room:

“Good morning Cheren! How are you doing today?”

“I would be better if I was off this ship, thank you very much” The black-haired man did not even try to hide his sarcasm.

“Well, maybe breakfast will do you some good!”

Despite his light tone, all Pearl’s muscles were tightened, ready to fight at any sign of hostility. He had seen Cheren in action more than once, he knew what he was able of. One moment of inattention and this guy would try to run away, probably making a lot of damages on his way. As the captain, he could not allow it.

The “thanks” from Cheren as he gave him the trail was cold. Not like he cared, he was their enemy after all. 

Pearl sat in front of the door, watching every little move of the black-haired man, blocking any moves he could do to the outside. During long minutes, silence took place in the room as none of them were willing to speak. Only the sound of the chopsticks could be heard.

So the blond man was surprised when the World Government agent, while he was nearly all done with his food, asked:

“Why did you become a criminal?”

Pearl blinked once, twice, before exploding into laughers. This guy was supposed to be from the World Government, did he really not know how he got a bounty on his head, and why he had had the black-haired man on his tail for so long?

“Aren’t you supposed to know?”

“I started chasing you only after you entered the Grand Line, I don’t know anything about why you did in the North Blue!” Cheren protested, but the glint of curiosity and embarrassment in his eyes betrayed him. There were few doubts he had looked for it but found nothing to answer his questions.

“You want to know it that badly? I just helped some friends of mine.” Pearl shrugged. Telling him would not change anything anyway, and he had to admit he was curious about the man’s reaction.

“Still don’t explain why the World Government directly issued a bounty for you, which is pretty rare. Usually, it’s the Marine who takes care of the pirates. So why?”

“How to explain that… Two of my friends fell in love with each other even if one of them already had a fiancé?” Saying it loud made the story sound ridiculous, Pearl realized. “The fiancé got kinda mad and I took the blame instead of my friend so the two of them could continue to live together and well, some stuff happened from then and I ended up becoming a pirate.”

“How is that link to you being a pirate, or chased by the World Government?” Cheren sounded incredulous, a feeling he could have relied on.

“Well… The friends with the fiancé, she may happen to be the princess of the kingdom? And the fiancé to also be a noble prince from another country?”

“... Dammit, you’re telling me you managed to piss off some nobles?” Cheren was staring at him with disbelief. “Don’t you know what you were risking?!”

“My friend is the one who pissed off the noble, not me” Pearl rectified him. “But he is such a softie, the living definition of a cinnamon roll, a criminal life would have never suited him, so I preferred to take the blame instead. I prefer to know him safe, still secretly living his love life with Missy than being on the sea far from the girl of his dreams.”

“What about you? Did you really want to become a pirate?”

“Of course not!” Even if he tried, he could not hide his bitterness. “My dream was to be a comedian, but surprisingly theaters refuse to welcome you when you are black-listed by the World Government itself. I still could have a change of identity and live a life hidden, but maybe by being a pirate, I can shake the World Government enough, so they don’t destroy other’s dreams as they did with mine!”

“I see…”

The silence was awkward, uncomfortable, but Pearl did not wish to speak anymore. He had already said too much. Damn, he should stop letting his temper take the best out of him. Now, he was just willing for the prisoner to finish his bowl of rice so he could be over with it and could come back to his daily activities, keeping his mind busy to not think of the friends he could not see anymore.

Out of a sudden, just before taking his last bit, Cheren spoke:

“I never wanted to join the World Government, you know?”

Pearl raised an eyebrow. Why did he declare that out of a sudden? He opened his mouth to ask more precisions, but the other man was too quick.

“I never really had a dream, a goal in my life, but my childhood friend, he did want to enter the World Government. He wanted to help people and bring justice so much, and worked so hard for this, that I ended up following him. I had no dream, so maybe all I could do was to help him to fulfill his one?” Cheren smiled softly as he recalled some memories, before sighing in tiredness. “So I ended up following him, but to be honest, this job is everything but not helping people or bringing justice. We’re just the pawns of the nobles.”

“That sucks” was all Pearl could answer.

“It does.”

“Never saw you as the type of guy to complain about it through”

“Well, guess I am this kind of guy.”

The sound of the bowl against the ground rang, as if putting an end to the conversation. Pearl stood up, took the bowl, and turned his back, ready to leave and come back to his captain. But just before crossing the door, he paused and said, not even looking at the prisoner:

“You know, if you have really enough of your job, you can always join our crew.”

And without letting the black-haired man the time to answer, he left.

* * *

When he had made that proposition to Cheren, on an impulse, Pearl had never thought the man would take him at his word.

But the black-haired man did, and Pearl never regretted it.

He had gained a valuable crew member. Not only one actually, as several people also joined after him. Only Davy Jones knew how, but the former World Government agent had convinced a dozen of other people to join. Some colleagues, a few informants, one or two criminals he surprisingly trusted… Their crew had got a lot bigger, and more powerful thanks to him.

And gained numerous advantages, in all the fields possible. Because Fantina’s cooking was fine but Cress, Cilan, and Chili’s meals were just to die for, and Brycen’s talent at acting had saved them more than once.

Another advantage, for the one year or so Cheren had been with them, he had tempered some of their more… _problematics_ behavior.

Like now.

“No Volkner, we are five thousand meters under the sea and you ate a Devil Fruit,” the black-haired man yelled, “You are not going to swim!”

“Man, you should learn the word fun sometimes.” The accused rolled his eyes in annoyance.

“Dying is not fun!” Cheren protested with his typical mom-friend voice.

“If you two could just stop arguing for a moment” Pearl intervened, “We could arrive at the Fishman Island way quicker!”

“Yes, Captain.”

He sighed. Even if he was one of the youngest on the boat, as the captain of the crew he often felt like a parent that had to always look after his impetuous children. 

A creased newspaper from one week or so ago fell from the trash and arrived on his feet. He had already read all the articles, with this new rookie from East Blue, God Roger, or something like that, the last exploit of a marine named Garp, the worrying disappearances in the Florian Triangle... The only one to really get his attention was about how a ship of the Rumbar Pirates had been found on the Calm Belt, the crew all dead.

As he thought of it again, he closed his eyes. Everyone who entered the Grand Line knew they were risking their lives. The Rumbar Pirates had not been an exception.

Though it was always sad to lose friends on the road.

* * *

This was bad.

Really bad.

The New World - Of course, they had heard rumors about how dangerous it was. But all of them had been a euphemism. The New World was not dangerous, it was insane, the incarnation of humanity’s nightmares, where everything you knew could not apply anymore. No wonder why anybody had ever conquered those waters, to this environment was just hostile to all life.

Pearl, Cheren, and all their crew… They had underestimated this sea. And they were now paying the price of their mistake.

The infamous Rocks Pirates were standing in front of them.

They were strong. Real strong. Stronger than anything they had ever faced before.

Pearl and his friends had never stood a chance.

Breathing was hard. He tried raising his limbs, but the gravity was too strong, he had never felt so heavy before. If he listened to his body, he would just fell flat on the ground-

_fell flat on the blood among the bodies of his friends ~~family~~ and their glassy eyes and-_

He shook his head. No, he should not focus on that now, yes, they were on the ground ~~dead~~ but they would rise again after right? ~~Never again~~. Anyway, he could not give up, not now, he needed to help them ~~avenge them~~ and besides, he was not the only one still standing up.

Giving up now, in front of their biggest enemy so far, would be only betraying his men.

And he could still feel Cheren’s back behind his own.

“We’re not going to make it out, are we?” As always, the black-haired man was more pessimistic ~~realistic~~ than him.

“Stop saying that, we just need to kick those assholes ass, don’t we?”

Even without seeing the face of his friend, Pearl could feel his dark eyes telling him “are you serious here?”

“There is more chance of me becoming a teacher than us beating them, Pearl.”

“Don’t give up now, there is still hope!”

“If you say so…” Despite his tired sigh, he knew Cheren was smiling. He could not help but smile too.

“Maybe in our next life, you’ll be a teacher.”

“And maybe in yours, you’ll finally get to be a comedian.”

Without another word, they stood up, stared at their enemies, and ran into them, for their last fight.

**Author's Note:**

> I am now craving for Pearl and Cheren friendship content, too bad I'm probably the only one who wrote about it yet.


End file.
